Running Against the Wind
by PallaPlease
Summary: [BSSM #8]  An odd fanfic indeed.  A male Haruka, a torn Usagi, and many things in between.  [Working On]
1. One

*Running Against the Wind*  
-Chapter 1 | Sea Wind-  
  
He watched her from the building's roof, navy blue cape tucked around his body firmly and his crystal blue eyes hidden by the gold mask he wore. His partner, respectfully silent, stood beside him, her face as cold and lifeless as his own. Both were still and unmoving, watching the battle unfold beneath them.  
  
"Neo-Queen Serenity! Lend your power to my staff, the Heart Moon Scepter!!"  
  
She was slender and beautiful in a pure way, flowing blonde hair tied up in buns, long trails of pigtails tumbling from the strict, round buns. Golden eyebrows knit together with concentration and defensive fury, she whipped out the Heart Moon Scepter and the Daimon showed no outward reaction.  
  
Which just went to prove how mindless the creature was.  
  
"Moon Spiral Heart Attack!"  
  
The creature was permitted one anguished, final scream of tortured pain before vanishing in an eerie wisp of smoke, spiraling into the white body of a cat.  
  
It opened its vivid green eyes and, panicked, began mewing loudly before scampering off into the shadowed darkness.  
  
The rest of the conversation was lost to the duo observing with twisted interest as the young woman touched the young man's arm, nodding swiftly. It was time to depart.  
  
As he turned, he deliberately nudged a loose stone of the gravel roof off the edge, sending it clattering to the ground far below.   
  
She glanced up; then left her gaze there, mouth opening in a round 'o' of astonishment.  
  
Following his partner's lead, he looked over his shoulder while leaping away, removing the mask on an impulse and winking roguishly at her, then disappearing.  
  
Sailor Moon stared, clutching at her brooch with one gloved fist. Her mind boggled at what she had seen. A boy, a few years older, to be sure, dressed in form fitting armor glinting like steel or silver with a blue cape, a gold mask, and white blonde hair. A girl, his age, with sea green hair and sporting a sailor fuku; the colors matched her eyes and hair perfectly.  
  
Only when Chibi-Usa exclaimed in surprise, the deep, bloody scratch in her arm completely healed, did the pretty soldier tear her eyes away from the fresh memory, burning in her ocean blue eyes.  
  
*  
  
Ten'ou Haruka dug his fingernails into the coarse flesh of his palms, staring moodily out of his dormitory window, narrowed eyes not seeing anything but her face.  
  
"Haruka-kun?" the tinkling, softly demure voice of Kaiou Michiru broke through his confusing thoughts. Turning his head to see her, he smiled briefly, insincere. She sighed and briskly walked up to him, resting a slim hand on his shoulder, pecking his cheek.  
  
"What are you thinking of?" she continued, studying his face intently though she knew his every expression. The look on his face was a contorted look of barely shrouded misery and the pain of a long buried memory finally surfacing. The reassuring twitch of his lips did nothing to satisfy her need to know the truth.   
  
"Nothing, Michiru-chan," he assured her, eyes clouded and distant.  
  
Not believing him, she let it lie. Turning on her heel and walking to the plain dresser, she picked up a glittering green mirror, the symbol of Neptune engraved on the pearl coated handle. The same ensigna glowed swiftly on the mirror piece itself, then images began shifting around in it.  
  
Haruka held his chin in one hand, elbow propped up on his other arm, which was wrapped firmly around his waist. An inkling of realization shot through his mind and he looked up sharply, crying out "Don't!" and moving toward his lover, arms and hands outstretched desperately.  
  
But it was too late.  
  
"You lied to me." He winced at her emotionless words and he saw the vile looks of jealousy and petty hatred play across her lovely face. "You said she didn't mean anything to you anymore." Her words were volatile and her tone accusing, a hint of longing woven into the sounds of both.  
  
In a few wide strides, he was by her side, cupping her face in his hands. "Michiru-chan, I only love you."  
  
Haruka could see eager hope and jealous suspicion wage a bitter war momentarily in her eyes.   
  
"Must I prove it to you?" Within seconds, he had crushed his lips to hers, teasing her with his tongue and lips, holding her tightly against his body.  
  
Deep inside, he wondered whether his beautiful, unreachable princess would have loved him in return, while he led Michiru to the bed in the center of the room.   
  
*  
  
'No…how could he be an enemy?…How could they…' Tsukino Usagi's thoughts were jumbled and bewildered, heart racing as she remembered the handsome, teasing face of the Mugen student, Haruka, unwanted images of his gorgeous companion Michiru filtering in as well. 'That can't be right!'  
  
The Senshi meeting left Usagi with a heart full of doubt and a mind full of wishes; causing her to remain unnaturally quiet while walking with Chibi-Usa and Mamoru on the way to the park.  
  
"Y'know, Chibi-Usa…," she began slowly, remembering something, "Unless it's a very special circumstance, you can't let anyone know your secret identity like you just did. You never know where the enemy might be hiding."  
  
Chibi-Usa bit her lip and ducked her head, pink curls bobbing slightly in rhythm with her pigtails and her gait. "I'm sorry…but I kinda thought……she could be my friend."  
  
Usagi stopped walking and watched Chibi-Usa and Mamoru continue their leisurely pace.  
  
'Maybe…I should let it go…she's only a kid…and, besides, what harm could it do?'  
  
Smiling brightly at her own ingenuity, the teenager skipped up to her boyfriend and future child in time to hear Chibi-Usa comment, "Didn't Hotaru have beautiful white skin? She was really pretty."  
  
Mamoru smiled affectionately at the pint-sized princess. "As white as alabaster," he affirmed.   
  
"Alabaster?" repeated Usagi inquisitively, eyes large and innocent as she awaited the tall man to explain the word to her.  
  
"It's a pretty jewel that looks like snow," he responded instantly.  
  
Usagi fell quiet again, squeezing her hands together and musing idly. 'She seemed so mature. And that power she used to heal Chibi-Usa's arm…'  
  
And then her thoughts turned once again to the mysterious figures, wistfully wondering who they were.  
  
*  
  
Through the dark, foreboding corridors of the underground catacombs, Kaori Night walked confidently, a dark aura of evil purpose engulfing her heart, soul, body, and mind. Whether or not she had a soul was questionable in itself.  
  
A pool of eerily still water, clear and pure in appearance, lay before her and she kneeled at its rim, gazing into its shallow depths and concentrating all her God cursed powers on summoning up images.  
  
The first and foremost to shimmer on the surface was that of Sailor Moon, Heart Moon Scepter outstretched defiantly, her mouth frozen in the process of forming the chant of her attack. A defined aura surrounded the girl, a pale shade of shell pink.  
  
Whispering thoughts drifted through her cold, calculating mind.  
  
'Is this what Pharaoh 90 called the light similar to the Tairon Crystal?! No. It's even more powerful! If I capture this power, the Master will surely be pleased!'  
  
A dark, loveless smile mockingly hovered onto her pale lips. 'But before that, I must find the light the Master spoke of as soon as possible. The light that leads destruction…'  
  
Pulling a flower bud shaped amulet out of her bodice, she dipped it in the water and an ugly brown dye streaked the water, pulsing like malformed veins and a stench not unlike regurgitated food items pervaded throughout the chilled air. Wrinkling her nose, Kaori suffered through it in the name of her Master.  
  
((Water mirror…show me…whirls of light…one…two…three…AWAKEN…GATHER…the three Talismans…that guide the light…the beginning of destruction!!!))  
  
In a room, an apartment far away, Chiba Mamoru gasped and sat up fluidly in his bed, gazing wildly about his room.  
  
Enraged, the sorceress jerked back and cursed mentally the outside forces that had prevented her from finding the Sacred Talismans…  
  
Elsewhere, Mamoru cursed the war he and the others were being dragged into.  
  
*  
  
Haruka stared into space, running his fingers up and down Michiru's arm as she slept, nestled in his arms. A feeling of guilt tickled his spine and he groaned, rolling away from her warm, soft body and burying his head in the downy pillows, trying to block out the angst ridden memories of a lifetime from a broken past.  
  
And the memories of a golden, bubbly princess he had found after a thousand years of dormancy.  
  
  
PallaPlease ~ February 6, 2001. 


	2. Two

*Running Against the Wind*  
-Chapter 2 | Whispers of the Breeze-  
  
Michiru studied her mirror intently by the wide, floor to ceiling windows of Haruka's dormitory room, her normally sweet eyes narrowed and mind conjuring up images of a life past and a danger present, flutters of jealousy in her heart at the sight of *her*.  
  
"What's wrong?" Her lover's voice was gentle and concerned, unlike his normal cold or wistful tones.  
  
She looked up with a tender smile, erasing the fleeting pictures with a swift swipe of her elegant hand.  
  
"I was trying to read the mirror when something interfered and it clouded over," she lied. "It wiped off easily though."  
  
He stared at her, and she was unable to read his blank expression. Haruka sighed softly, quickly moving to her side and wrapping his arms about her shoulders, face buried in her hair.  
  
"Michiru."  
  
She closed her eyes, feeling tears swelling up within. If only hers was the only name he uttered with such love…she touched the glass pane with one hand, fingers loose and barely brushing against the slick surface.  
  
"What we're trying to do…may be useless…" His voice had taken a harder edge to it, the warrior of the wind becoming dominant once more. "Whatever we do, it may already be too late…"  
  
Michiru inhaled softly, whispering in reply, "We knew that when we started, Haruka."  
  
There was a quiet moment of silence before she continued, stronger. "The wheels of fate have started turning. The new awakening will finally come soon."  
  
He turned her to face him, crystal blue eyes softening at the glistening tears in hers.   
  
"We have to gather the three Talismans," she murmured, then fell into sobs, grasping his arms as she wept, salty tears stinging his own.  
  
For with the Talismans came the Sovereign Queen of Death, Creation, and Infinite Oblivion.  
  
*  
  
Mamoru flipped through the pages of his newly purchased book, walking and turning corners as if he possessed some internal radar system. He stopped the pages from turning, his remarkable blue eyes landing on the chilling features of a gently smiling Professor Tomoe; the supposedly paternal smile eerily similar to a predator's when it was befriending the prey. 'Professor Tomoe, huh?'  
  
Quickly, he scanned the page, reading the kanji rapidly.  
  
:: Professor Tomoe Soichi  
Superintendent Mugen Gakuen.   
  
Professor Mugen Gakuen   
University Section  
Professorate Degree from T University, Genetic Engineering Division ::  
  
Kaiou Michiru paused in her walking to the bookstore, having spied the broad shouldered back of one Chiba Mamoru.  
  
"Are you researching Mugen Gakuen?" she asked with an understanding, though somewhat enigmatic, smile, unwittingly startling him.  
  
"Ah…," he managed to squeeze out.   
  
"The owner of the college, Professor Tomoe, is a famous scientist." Her smile was kind and patient, beautiful eyes sweetly reinforcing her words before she chuckled lightly. "Although……he was expelled from the academic establishment a long time ago."   
  
Mamoru started, surprised yet again.  
  
"Expelled? Some people in Mugen Gakuen……call it the Training School for Sorcerors. Did you know that?"  
  
Her smile grew, pleasure evident on her ivory face.   
  
"Because there are so many talented people from so many different fields, perhaps," he finished, awaiting her response.  
  
"Or maybe…," she began, stopping her words when a timid schoolgirl's voice chimed shyly, "Um, excuse me…are you the violinist Kaiou Michiru?"  
  
"Yes," Michiru smiled, turning from Mamoru, who watched the exchange with interest.  
  
"I'm your biggest fan! Can I get your autograph?" shrilled the girl, obviously struck by hero worship.  
  
She obliged.  
  
'Kaiou Michiru…,' he mused, smiling wryly.  
  
"And are you…a Sorceress of many talents?" Mamoru questioned, amused.  
  
She literally beamed at him, face radiant and lovely, beckoning unknowingly. "That's right. I have a concert coming up. Please come. I can give you some tickets."  
  
Tsukino Usagi paused on her way to the Crown Arcade, a sudden feeling of intense pain striking her stomach. Hiding around a corner, she gazed with wide eyes at her Mamoru…and Michiru.  
  
'Is that…Mamoru? Why are those two…standing together?'  
  
Her heart thumped painfully, throat contracting slowly. 'She's one of the people we have to be very careful of…why are you talking with her?'  
  
And suddenly, she recognized that face, from a night not long ago, the icily beautiful face of a Senshi with aqua green trimmings on her fuku, staring jealously back at her.  
  
The pain in her gut throbbed into a cancerous feel, pervading her body. 'She…'  
  
Turning, she ran off, face flushed and heart confused.  
  
*  
  
Coming to a stop before the colorful neon sign of Crown Arcade, she sighed sadly and stepped onto the rubber panel, the automatic doors sliding open with a faint 'whoooosh' and an annoying elevator music-like jingle.  
  
She had barely taken five steps inside when a calloused hand tugged back on one of the twin tails of blonde hair tumbling from the buns, causing her to shriek.  
  
Whirling around defensively, she found herself facing Ten'ou Haruka in all his six-foot-plus glory, one hand clamped at the base of her bun, cooling the pained skin. Lips opening slightly, she blushed a pale pink color.  
  
"Yo, Muffin-head! We meet again. Do you come to this arcade often?"  
  
Staring at him, trying to calm her racing heart and the blush stealing across her cheeks, she had a flitting image of the young man in silver armor, the soothing moonlight glinting off steel gauntlets and boots…   
  
'Ten'ou Haruka? He looks like that masked Senshi…'  
  
Taking a hesitant step toward him, she began slowly. "Um…are you…possibly…a Sailor Senshi?"  
  
His eyes widened, then his face turned bright red and he jerked backwards, one rough hand flying to his face as she turned beet red herself, gasping angrily at her own idiocy.  
  
"Huh? What's that? A Sailor Senshi?" he repeated, grinning weakly.  
  
Mentally, she berated herself. 'Aack! Stupid! Stupid! Usagi, you dummy, he's a guy!'  
  
His slightly amused voice broke her thoughts. "You like that, don't you? Senshi and fighting."   
  
She blinked a few times, mouth forming a delicate 'o'.  
  
His smile was gentle and she felt a ghost of a memory flutter tremulously through her mind, vanishing sadly.  
  
"You and your friends. Are you in some sort of a battle game?"  
  
Face heated, she brought her loosely clenched fist up to her face, crying, "It's not just a…"  
  
"Stay away from Usagi!"  
  
The girl saw the four teenagers who protected her glaring ominously at Haruka, who was looking over his shoulder at them. Her face was still bright, though she felt strangely disappointed, words clawing at her throat.  
  
Dropping his head and shaking it ruefully, he glanced up through his thick white blonde bangs. "Tch…ah, well."  
  
So he turned to leave, the girls moving so he could exit.  
  
Usagi took a trembling step forward, eyes wide and wishing, mouth opened as if to call him back, her soul calling, 'ah!'  
  
Stepping outside, closely followed by the quartet, she watched his retreating form, stride confident, but slower than the pace she saw him normally walk with. Fast. As if he was trying to flee some fearful monstrosity…  
  
'Like I fight against my destiny,' her mind thought sadly and she closed her eyes softly, feeling a sudden breeze caress her lovingly before fading away…into nothing…and she missed the wind…  
  
*  
  
Crown Parlor was a happy establishment, cheerful and suitable for the family.  
  
And the feasting spot of the original six Senshi a week later.  
  
"Wow. So you're on the student council for your new class, Chibi-Usa?" Makoto grinned.  
  
The little girl nodded sagely, joyfully licking the sweet confectionary delight from her lips, pink curls bouncing as she nodded a second time, as if to assure her first response was correct. "That's right. I even get to be in the opening ceremony as the class representative!" she cheered, thrusting her spoon into the air with joyous fervor. "The new students were keeeee-yute!" she added, firmly adding more emphasis on the drawn out word, 'cute'.  
  
"Chibi-Usa is already in second grade," Minako giggled, staring off into space as she reminisced.  
  
"And we're finally in ninth grade," Usagi finished, looking depressed as she rested her chin on the table's edge. "Ah-ah! It's so depressing. The entrance exams are coming up."  
  
"If an enemy appears now," the other blonde sobbed, "there's no way I'll advance to next year!"  
  
Makoto winked roguishly at the two saddened girls, whipping her journal out of nowhere they could see.  
  
"There, there. Let's forget that depressing topic. Y'know, tomorrow is April 17! Rei-chan's birthday. Let's have a party for her!"  
  
As if a thought had suddenly occurred to the tall brunette, she twisted her head around every which way, looking frantically for any sign of the fiery priestess. "Come to think of it, where *is* Rei-chan?"  
  
"She went to Mount M yesterday for training," Minako remarked glumly, still hung up on the thought of high school entrance exams.   
  
"Training?!" Makoto screeched.  
  
"She wanted to purify herself before her fifteenth birthday," continued Minako.  
  
"No way! I wanted to have a party!" wailed Kino Makoto, clasping her hands over her face and moaning softly.  
  
The two lunar cats, Artemis and Luna, male and female (respectively), white and black (respectively once again), were reading a newspaper, Artemis with growing interest and worry.  
  
"Look, Luna," Artemis stated in a low voice, a worried edge to it.   
  
"What?" she replied inquisitively, peering over his furry shoulder at the ad. Her red eyes widened remarkably, then narrowed dangerously.   
  
"Mugen Gakuen's traditional camp for new students is on Mount M…"  
  
  
PallaPlease ~ February 8, 2001. 


	3. Three

*Running Against the Wind*  
-Chapter 3 | Trailing A Tornado-  
  
Mount M remained still and forebodingly beautiful, its peaks sharp, high, and jagged, warning and yet tempting at the same time.  
  
Beneath the floor of a large building built with the traditional style, but with modern conveniences, a frightening act of power and evil began commencing darkly.  
  
Eudial, the red hair on her right side pulled into two tails, the left side free to hang, bowed low before a pool of crystal clear water.  
  
Through the water mirror at her feet, the cold, uncaring face of Kaori Night appeared, staring expectantly at her.  
  
"Kaori Night…let me, Eudial of the Witches 5, make the first move!" A rippling wave of black light traveled over her body and the skimpy black outfit she had been wearing turned into a Mugen girl's uniform.  
  
"As Yuko Arimura, the Leader of Good Etiquette in Philosophy Class at Mugen Gakuen…" She paused, smiling evilly. "…I'll make sure they understand the school regulations." Each word dripped with sinister poison, the innocent words twisted darkly by the meaning behind them. "And I swear to gather Vessels and Hoste for our Master."  
  
Kaori smiled grimly. "I leave it to you, Eudial."  
  
*  
  
Hino Rei stood under the low waterfall, hands clasped together in a praying position, her eyes closed as the cool water washed over her body, the ritual process of spiritual and body cleansing proceeding smoothly, like the water trickling down her bare arms as she reached out with her mind, pricking the water mirrors spread throughout Tokyo underground.  
  
Kaori gasped and grasped the edge of her water mirror, staring at the ripples indicating thoughtwaves.  
  
'A ripple in the water mirror…there is some other thoughtwave…coming from the area where Eudial is…'  
  
Narrowing her eyes coldly, she heard the mental voice, ((AWAKEN! The time has come! Begin the destruction! GATHER! The three Talismans!'))  
  
Rei's eyes snapped open, her breathing coming ragged and thick. Kaori's water mirror exploded, the water erupting upwards, then slowly arcing back down to splash noisily into the rippling pool.  
  
'The three Talismans?!' both thought mentally.  
  
Thoughts raced about in Rei's head, but a cheerful, husky female voice broke the trance.   
  
"REI!!!!"  
  
Turning around to find her friends, one toting a cake, another picnic basket, and the other two lugging along heavy backpacks, Rei was sufficiently startled. Minutes of hasty greetings and explanations filled the still air.   
  
*  
  
"Cheers! Happy Fifteenth Birthday, Rei-chan!"  
  
Five cups of fruit punch tapped together with gentle 'ding's.  
  
Happy, relaxed chatter swallowed the five teenagers until Makoto hesitatingly spoke up.  
  
"By the way, Rei…did you know? Isn't there a camp for new Mugen Gakuen students here on Mount M?"   
  
Rei nodded curtly, dark violet eyes guarded. "Yes. That's one of the reasons I came here."  
  
"Why didn't you say anything about it? To come here alone…!" Makoto cried softly, not permitting Usagi the privilege of hearing their conversation. It was bound to eventually turn to her safety as the Moon Princess.  
  
"Well, I had a bad premonition about it," she finally responded, gazing at the large, traditional building with a fierce intensity crackling about her. "We have to do all we can to protect Usagi. I thought if we could prevent an incident in advance…without endangering Usagi…then…"  
  
"Right," Makoto affirmed.  
  
*  
  
Loud noises came from the Mugen's camp, the sounds of thuds and yelps coming forth.  
  
"Wh-what?!" Usagi gaped, worried about the safety of the students.  
  
"The Mugen Gakuen students are practicing judo at the lodge over there," Rei explained as Usagi bit her lip anxiously.   
  
The five girls shared one look and came to a common decision.  
  
Peeking around the corner, the quintet was caught off guard.  
  
"What are *you* doing here?!" Haruka cried, his words meant for all five girls, but his gaze settled on Usagi, who felt her heartbeat begin pounding quickly under his curious scrutiny. 'Huh?!' she thought intelligently.  
  
"Geez, I see you a lot," he laughed and motioned for Usagi to come out. "Quit hiding and come out."  
  
Shyly, she hunched her shoulders as various students stopped practicing to stare at her and her companions, following behind her.  
  
"What are you doing up here in the mountains? Are you at camp too? That's a coincidence." He smiled cockily at her, eyebrows tilted downwards slightly.  
  
"Too bad!" Makoto snarled, about to charge him, apparently disliking him very much.   
  
"M-makoto, we've come here to train!" Rei gasped, trying to snatch at her friend's collar.  
  
"Training, huh? Since you're here, will one of you spar with me? I'll give you a work-out. Do you know judo?" He flashed a 'v-for-victory' sign at them along with a wink.  
  
"I'll take you on!"   
  
"Makoto?!"  
  
*  
  
Outfitted in a training gi, Makoto licked her lips. 'This guy's a creampuff.' He was built for speed, she noted, tall and slender with a lightness about him that suggested he was moving all his weight to his heels.  
  
Haruka made quick notes himself. 'Somewhat smaller than me…she doesn't have a good grip on the mat.'  
  
Of course, never underestimate your opponents.  
  
But then again…  
  
Before Makoto could blink, he had flipped her over his shoulder, having moved like a blur from his side of the mat to hers, firmly grasping her waist and using his momentum to raise her up and flip her over. Stunned, she hit the mat with a dull thud, landing on her back.  
  
"Makoto!" Ami shrieked.  
  
Minako rushed to the fallen girl's side, glaring at Haruka. "That's awful! How can you throw a girl like that?"  
  
"Gender makes no difference," he said calmly, arms crossed, his eyes emotionless. "Do you think because you're a girl, you'll always lose to a guy? If you think that…" He looked straight at Usagi. "…you can't protect the ones you love."  
  
'Love…?' she echoed in a mental whisper.  
  
"What are you doing over there?!"  
  
Eudial glared ferociously at the group and the girls, with one mass shriek, sped out of the lodge like their very lives depended on it.  
  
Haruka quickly moved to the sliding rice paper door, closing it effortlessly with a charming grin. "It's nothing. I was just talking to some girls from another school."  
  
Eudial scowled. "I see."  
  
*  
  
The rented cabin was quiet and tranquil, each one of the five Senshi snoring away.  
  
All except for Rei. Pulling the covers off of her slim body, still dressed in her priestess' uniform, she stood up slowly, not noticing Makoto stir until she sat up sharply.  
  
Placing one finger at her own lips, Rei made a 'shhhh' sound and Makoto thought, slightly startled, 'Rei?!'  
  
Both girls moved to the door frame, staring out at a glinting fire nearby, the Mugen students circling it almost ritualistically.  
  
"They're having some sort of ceremony," Makoto muttered, eyes narrowed.  
  
The waterfall Rei had bathed herself under was spraying down upon another group of students, causing her to remark, "Look. They're purifying themselves in the waterfall."  
  
The tall red-haired woman they had seen earlier stood before the roaring flames, a curious black book held in one of her hands. Her voice was carried by the wind towards their cabin, permitting the two Senshi the luck of hearing her speech.  
  
"Now, let's begin the orientation for the new students," she began calmly, eyes sparkling sinisterly. "To build a better scholastic life, let's learn the Mugen Gakuen rules of conduct together."  
  
The fire crackled and spurted upward, fiery plumes frighteningly real.  
  
"You must love the college and do your best for it."  
  
In the woods, an armor-covered man lay in wait, his silver armor brightly reflective and form fitting.   
  
"You must not disobey the leaders of the college. And…"  
  
Moonlight gleamed off the gold circlet around his forehead, the sapphire decoration deeply colored and coldly blue. He waited patiently in the tree branches.  
  
A demonic light lit Eudial's eyes and Rei reached for her henshin stick at the same time Makoto did.  
  
"…you must give your heart and soul to the founder of the college, our Master, Pharaoh 90!"  
  
Flames exploded in all directions, engulfing the witch's body, an immense black star glowing eerily from the center of the heat.  
  
A gold staff with its top tip wrapped around a star made of obsidian, dripping darkness, tore out from the blaze and she caught it effortlessly without turning her head at all.  
  
Each of the students began radiating a strange glow, eyes becoming like Eudial's and black stars streaming from their foreheads.   
  
"For our Master…for our survival…you will train from now on to become skilled Vessels! And one by one…you will sacrifice to us your soul and spirit, your Hoste!"  
  
Bright objects formed of mist seeped out of the numb students' bodies, collecting into one large mass as their bodies fell limply to the ground, stars still burning on their heads..  
  
Tree branches rattled suddenly and Eudial whirled around. "Who's there?!"  
  
"You can end your crazy party right there!"  
  
Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter flipped out of the bushes, stonily regarding her before crying out-  
  
"With the blessings of Mar, the planet of fire, the Senshi of War, Sailor Mars…"  
  
"And with the blessings of Jupiter, the planet of lightning, the Senshi of Protection, Sailor Jupiter…"  
  
"Are here!"   
  
The uniform Eudial wore evaporated, revealing a skimpy outfit and she gathered dark magic in her outstretched hands.  
  
"So you're here, Sailor Senshi!" she cackled madly, "I am Eudial of the Witches 5, Level 78 Death Busters! I'll defeat you and raise my level!"  
  
Mars, aggravated and impatient, snarled, "Mars Snake Fire!"  
  
The burning flames leapt from her tiara and fingertips, scorching Eudial.  
  
Her skin melted away like wax, becoming a hideous creature stuck halfway between death and life, halfway between Earth and hell.  
  
*  
  
Ami shook frantically at Usagi, trying to rouse her from her deep slumber. "Usagi! Wake up! Rei and Makoto are gone!"   
  
She opened her eyes slowly and threw the covers aside, slipping off the mattress.   
  
Minako looked worriedly at them, pointing at the enormous blaze. "Usagi! Ami! There's a fire outside!"  
  
*  
  
Mars and Jupiter were pressed against a tree trunk, the monster creature that once had been Eudial charging towards them.  
  
"Moon Spiral HEART ATTACK!!"  
  
Eudial had not time to register a response; the attack struck her and enveloped her monstrosity of a body, burning it to ashes in a cruelly ironic twist of fate.  
  
'It's gone?!' Sailor Moon gasped mentally, hugging her scepter to her chest with wide eyes.  
  
"Uh…" Students were gradually moaning and stirring; the fire fell into embers mere seconds after Eudial's death.  
  
*  
  
"She's gone…"  
  
"She wasn't worthy of the Witches 5."  
  
"The warrior of fire, Eudial, was worthless."  
  
"The Sailor Senshi are strong!"  
  
*  
  
"Death Busters…that's what she said."  
  
The Inner Senshi shared grim looks, silently accepting their new mission.  
  
'Death Busters! Is that the new enemy?'  
  
A crackling sound broke the quiet behind them and Venus gasped, she and Sailor Moon turning to look up in the tree at their back.  
  
Pushing off the branch with a thickly soled silver boot, the slender young man cast an emotionless look over his shoulder, gold mask covering his features, light hair wafting as he flew through the air, vanishing in the brush.  
  
'That's…!' Sailor Moon thought with a deep inhale of air.  
  
Then, before her fellow Senshi could stop her, she, too, vanished into the brush, chasing after the enigmatic figure.  
  
"Wait!!" she cried, recklessly pushing branches and leaves out of her way, struggling to keep up with the astonishingly swift figure.  
  
"Usagi!" Venus hollered, sighing resignedly. Headstrong as always…   
  
'He's so fast! Just like the wind! I can't catch up!' the teenager wailed desperately in her mind before bursting from the bushes to find herself standing on a picnic ledge overlooking a village far below.  
  
'I've lost him?! But that's…'  
  
A tenor voice called out casually, "I didn't expect you to be able to keep up with me."  
  
She whirled on her heel, staring up at the glimmering silver of the boy from where he sat lazily up in a tree, smirking, a trace of glinting gold in his fingers, apparently his mask.  
  
"Who are you…," she whispered, heart pounding rapidly.  
  
"Little muffin?" he responded, leaping from the tree branches to land a few inches away from her, looking up.  
  
"Don't get in our way," he smiled and her heart skipped a beat, her eyes widening as she recognized him. His fingers firmly curved under her chin and he pressed his lips against hers, a myriad of emotions ranging from shock to guilty pleasure invading her body. As their lips separated, he murmured, "Battle games are dangerous." And then, like the wind, he was gone, leaving her to fall to her knees, gloved fingers lightly touching her parted lips, rosy red from the pressure.   
  
"Sailor Moon!" Venus and Mars knelt beside her, their voices fading into a distant hum that annoyed her somewhat.  
  
'Could that person possibly be…'  
  
Her eyes remained wide, absently clasping her left hand over her mouth, still feeling the heat and pressure from only a moment before.  
  
'A Sailor Senshi?!'  
  
*  
  
"You had contact with a Sailor Senshi?!" Luna demanded, voice shrill and angry, both Artemis and Diana, their future kitten, wincing at the loud outburst. "What did she say her name was?"  
  
Usagi kept her gaze focused on the table, replying harshly, "*He* didn't give a name."  
  
Luna purposefully ignored the gender switch, assuming her charge was in a state of complete surprise as she said 'he'. "Was there anything else?"  
  
"He said not to get in his way."  
  
"And?" Makoto pressed.  
  
Deep desire in his lips, humming electricity, pounding heart, searing her soul, lingering touch...  
  
"That's all," she whispered softly.  
  
"Did you see his face?" Ami asked busily, deciding Usagi knew what she was saying when she said 'he'.  
  
Crystal blue eyes, white blonde hair, gently sloping cheeks, caressing lips, beautifully chiseled face…  
  
"It was too dark to see," she lied, ashamed of her own deception.  
  
"I can't believe it," Rei proclaimed suddenly. "Another Sailor Senshi, and a male one at that!"  
  
"If he is," began Ami slowly, "then why is he working separate from us? Why?"  
  
"It's too early to tell if he's a real Sailor Senshi," Minako interjected practically, her hidden wisdom shining through patiently. "Not until we catch him…and reveal his true identity."  
  
*  
  
Usagi snuck up the stairs of her family's house, stepping into her room and carefully shutting the door, trying to create as little noise as possible.  
  
Shuffling across the thick blue carpet, she paused, staring at a magazine opened on her desk, an article on a 'brilliant racer'…Ten'ou Haruka.  
  
His face was the same; lips curved in a broad, relaxed smile, wearing his racing uniform.  
  
She sighed and turned away, quickly pulling her school fuku off and slipping into an airy silken nightgown with pink and blue lacing, grasping the magazine and laying it on her pillow, lying on her stomach, chin resting on her hands.  
  
'Ten'ou Haruka…'  
  
Her lips tingled and she felt her heart flutter a bit.  
  
'Haruka-san…'  
  
'They look the same…'  
  
[["Little muffin…"]]  
  
[["Muffin-head."]]  
  
Sighing, she gave into her drowsy feeling, falling asleep on the smooth magazine pages.  
  
*  
  
^^^ She was standing in a black void in her nightgown and bare feet. There was someone else there, dressed in the Mugen boy's fuku. It was Haruka. He smiled at her in a schoolboy-ishly eager way. _Hey, Muffin-head…_   
  
'Huh?'  
  
He was beside her, then, fingers under her chin and his lips against hers. When he pulled away, he looked different, dressed in a uniform chillingly similar to the one Kunzite had worn and with decorative earrings of sapphire studding his ears, eyes a cloudy, milky blue color.  
  
'Who?'  
  
He was running away now…why was he running? She wanted him to come back, to stay…with her…  
  
The armor! He was wearing that Senshi's silver armor and circlet, the same gauntlets and boots…   
  
'He's that Sailor Senshi?!'  
  
"Wait! Why do you always run away? Tell me why!" She felt like crying, like running to him and wrapping her arms around him despite the bruising armor, like holding him forever…  
  
"There's no time. We have our duty," he replied calmly and he gave her one last penetrating look before fading into the inky blackness.  
  
'Huh?'  
  
_Talismans…_ ^^^  
  
In their own individual bedrooms, each of the Inner Senshi wrinkled her eyebrows in slumber, visions filtering into their minds, an evil entity sending commands telepathically.  
  
^^^ 'We must collect…the three Talismans…for the God of Destruction…' Pain ripped through their bodies, screams mingling with blood… ^^^  
  
Mamoru shot up in his bed at the same moment Minako, Makoto, Ami, Rei, and Usagi did.   
  
'That dream!' he thought wildly, holding his head with one hand.   
  
'Talismans?!' the girls cried out mentally.  
  
Rei felt her chest rise and fall raggedly with her uneven breathing. 'That dream! This is a bad omen!'  
  
A determined look gleamed in her violet eyes. 'The Talismans must not be united!'  
  
  
PallaPlease ~ February 8-9, 2001. 


	4. Four

*Running Against the Wind*  
-Chapter 4 | Talismans-  
  
Tiny swallows chirruped brightly, winging from tree to tree, long, winding stonewalls containing the trees encircled the block.   
  
A man with short black hair and a mature, calculating expression leaned nonchalantly against the wall, holding a school case in one hand. He was Chiba Mamoru.  
  
Out of breath, Usagi huffed and came to a screeching halt before him, blushing furiously.  
  
"Morning, Usako. You're late," he greeted with a smile.  
  
Blushing uncontrollably, the teenager swept strands of her blonde hair over her shoulder, school fuku in disarray from her mad dash to meet with him before getting to Juuban Junior High.  
  
Flitting images from her dream trickled through her mind and, blushing even darker, she thought softly, 'I can't look him in the eyes! Why…?'  
  
Ducking her head slightly, she heard him chuckle lightly; obviously assuming she was embarrassed about being late. 'Mamo-chan…'  
  
Lifting her head slightly, she noticed posters plastered on the opposing wall along the length of the alternate sidewalk.  
  
Mamoru followed her gaze and saw them as well.  
  
A lovely profile of the equally lovely Kaiou Michiru was painted delicately on each poster, a violin held in one hand.   
  
"Kaiou Michiru?" Usagi half-whispered, staring at the shimmering bright row of ads.  
  
'Who are you, Michiru?…you look like that Senshi…and yet you're unafraid of showing your face…'  
  
She swallowed thickly. 'I thought we could never let our faces become well-known…creatures would see us…and know…'  
  
"A concert…," Mamoru mused aloud and his girlfriend turned to look at him, his back to her.  
  
"Mamoru…" Her voice was soft and barely above a murmur. "Do you like Michiru?"  
  
*  
  
"Ugh…Kami-sama, I hate school…"  
  
[["I'm sorry, Usagi-chan, I have cram school to get to!"]]  
  
[["Geez, Usagi, if I could, I *would*! But I've got a club to go to…gomen ne! I promise to go to Crown with you tomorrow!"]]  
  
Usagi sighed deeply, shoulders hunching, ponytails dangling limply. Stiffly turning the corner to approach her haven, her own personal Arcade of Solitude, she spied a figure only two feet away from her, tall and slender.  
  
"Oh…," she breathed at the same time he did. "Haruka-san…"  
  
He stared at her, ice blue eyes burning into her ocean blue ones, and she felt as if he was diving through her deepest thoughts…  
  
"Muffin-head." The barest hint of a lopsided smile twitched across his lips and she felt heat rising up in her cheeks.   
  
'I've been blushing a lot today…,' she thought wryly in her mind.  
  
"Come here often?" he teased, eyes softening and becoming shyly eager, frighteningly out of place in his unmoving features.  
  
"Of course," she replied quickly, absently tugging at loose threads hanging from her white blouse. "I come to the arcade every day after school. I've been playing that racing game."  
  
Haruka grinned widely, making the twinkling, longing look in his eyes seem characteristic. "Really? Are you getting any better?"  
  
She giggled without a thought, nodding rapidly. A wind seemed to spring up from nowhere, tickling her face, caressing her neck. It felt nice…  
  
He was smiling again, his hand lifting and touching her cheek softly with the sweetest brush of his fingertips, the feel of burning electricity racing through her veins as swiftly as his hand left her face. Without thinking, she caught his rough, calloused hand with her soft, slim one. He looked startled, a hint of something strange glinting in his eyes. Turning his head to look off, giving her a profile of his face, he became quiet and serious.  
  
"Your friends told me to keep away, so I thought I shouldn't come here to see you anymore."  
  
What was that in his voice? It was distant, as if he was remembering something from long ago…  
  
"But…I had to see you…again."  
  
The light blush touching her skin was a shell-like pink, glowing softly.  
  
'Why is my heart beating so fast?' her mind cried mournfully and another voice chirped, with a frustrated sigh, 'Why do you think, genius?' The other voice, the sane one, responded, 'It's all that dream's fault!' The second voice vanished, muttering, 'Baka.'  
  
[[_He bent down to kiss her, fingers touching her chin…he pulled away, dressed like Kunzite, sapphire earrings like dewdrops, milky blue eyes…armor, glimmering silver…_]]  
  
'It's strange…he looks like a General…and a normal guy…'   
  
[["Don't worry, Usagi-hime…" He smiled at her.]]   
  
She blinked. Where the heck had that come from?  
  
"I still haven't introduced myself, have I?" he broke through her thoughts, gazing deeply at her.  
  
"I know who you are." The smile on her face was sad, distantly. "You're Ten'ou Haruka. You're really famous. You…and Michiru…" She motioned to another one of the posters behind him.  
  
Haruka glanced over his shoulder, a sudden gust of wind tousling his somewhat-wild, light wheat hair. Jabbing a thumb in the direction of the blown-up photo, he grinned again. "You really have to listen to her play sometime. Once you do, you just get hooked. She's a magician who makes the music and instrument come alive."  
  
He returned his attention to the wistful Usagi. "Actually…I've got some tickets if you'd like to come hear. I'll be there and I hope you'll come, with your friends. Of course." He added the 'of course' on an afterthought, holding out five tickets to her, the curious wind gently bending the paper. Lifting a hesitant hand, Usagi took them, quietly whispering, "Domo arigatou gazaimasu, Haruka-san."  
  
"What's your name, little muffin?" he whispered in way of a response, cupping her cheek, the rough skin of his palm seeming to become gentle and careful.  
  
"U…Usagi…," she whispered, something in her chest tugging.  
  
The mutinous voice in her head began cursing almost soundlessly.  
  
Another breeze swept her hair, the strands forming an airy golden shroud about the two figures.  
  
'I want to know about him.'  
  
[[Mamoru was talking to Michiru, standing so very close to her…]]  
  
'I want to know more about you, Haruka.'  
  
"Usagi, hm?" His hand fell away from her, slipping into his pocket, a remote smirk decorating his lips, like a cleverly deceptive mask. "That's cute."  
  
The wind screamed suddenly and he vanished in the space of a blink of the eye, gone from view.  
  
"No, wait! Haruka!"  
  
Her voice was lost, her futile pleas drowned out by the mere silence.  
  
'Come back…'  
  
Tears pricked her eyes and she wiped them away with her wrist, unsure of why exactly they were there, but wanting the young man to return anyway.  
  
'He's almost…like the wind…Ten'ou Haruka.'  
  
She turned and entered the arcade, still wiping glistening teardrops off of her eyelashes.  
  
From behind the corner, Mamoru watched.  
  
*  
  
"Eudial was an absolute failure," a voice declared silkily, a frosty blue aura radiating forth from her.  
  
"I feel sorry for her," another voice staked firmly, a glowing orange aura surrounding her shapely form.  
  
"I think she was just too much of a brainless kisama to even bother feeling pity for her," a third voice sighed airily, green light pulsing about her.  
  
"She wasn't powerful enough. She didn't have enough levels." The fourth voice had an echo to it, both voices cold and unfeeling. Dark blue and dark red lights seeped from her pores and those of the mirror image foggily formed behind her.  
  
"Each of you shall have a chance," a man informed them coldly.   
  
In the darkness, a diamond-shaped false eye glittered sinisterly.  
  
*  
  
Counting her tickets carefully, Usagi beamed and handed each girl a ticket. "I got them...from a friend. Now we can go see Kaiou Michiru in concert!"  
  
Minako muttered darkly, taking her ticket and sniffling.  
  
A poster of a pretty girl with wavy orange hair almost shoulder-length was pasted beside a Michiru poster.   
  
'Hanyu Mimi…beautiful, gifted, and performing tomorrow, same time as Michiru's concert!' Minako wailed mentally. 'I hate my life!'  
  
*  
  
Gritting her teeth, Kaori Night scowled darkly into her still water mirror, evil staff clutched in white fingers.  
  
'I can not believe they defeated Eudial so swiftly!' she screamed mentally, forcing enraged bile down her swanlike throat with inhuman effort.  
  
"I know what you're thinking. Eudial got defeated awfully quickly, didn't she?" a tinkling, musical voice called out and the owner of the voice sashayed over to the soundlessly raging Sorceress. "But I, Mimete of the Witches 5, Level 40 Death Busters, shall bring the Master Vessels and Hoste to further our noble cause!"  
  
Kaori Night smiled coldly. "Very well. The violinist's concert, that Kaiou Michiru…will it…she…bring more victims for us?"  
  
"Yes." Glinting white teeth were flashed in a vicious smile.  
  
Cackling softly, Kaori waved her hand in a 'go forth' gesture. "Then you may go…Hanyu Mimi."   
  
*  
  
[[Sailor Moon was too busy staring after two rapidly disappearing forms to notice the frail girl tie a hankerchief around the healing wound on Chibi-Moon's bloody arm. "I promise I'll bring it to you!" she smiled after the initial shock of the 'healing touch' vanished.]]  
  
'It was back here, behind the amusement park, right?' Chibi-Usa held the wrapped present to her lips, staring at the immense, foreboding iron gates, England style prongs tipping the tops. 'I guess it's locked…how'm I supposed to get this to…'  
  
"Hotaru?"   
  
The frail girl glanced up, startled, ebony hair contrasting deeply with her eerie white skin. She was walking toward the residence, along the sidewalk, and she appeared confused to see the beaming Chibi-Usa.  
  
"I came to return your hankerchief!" Chibi-Usa giggled, running to the slim shape of Tomoe Hotaru and holding out the wrapped gift. "But it was really bloody and I couldn't get all the blood washed out, so I got you a new one. Gomen nasai!"  
  
"You came…to return…my hankerchief?" Her voice sounded incredulous.  
  
Chibi-Usa nodded fervently.   
  
Hotaru smiled unexpectedly. "Why don't you come in?"  
  
The pink-haired girl gawked briefly. "REALLY?!"  
  
"Sure. Come in!"  
  
*  
  
Crystal chandeliers hung imperially from the jewel encrusted ceiling, every surface glimmering and sparkling, and a feeling of awe bubbled into existence in Chibi-Usa's breast.  
  
"Wow," she said softly, holding Hotaru's hand.  
  
"Come up to my room."  
  
Obediently, Chibi-Usa followed the older girl to a dark room, lit dimly by hundreds of lamps, varying sizes and shapes, all glowing at low levels.  
  
"This is so sugoi!" Chibi-Usa cried, clapping her hands enthusiastically.  
  
Everything was covered in black, from the bedsheets to Hotaru herself.  
  
"Your clothes are all black, too, Hotaru," she stated, curiosity tickling her mind. "Do you like black? You wear tights, too."  
  
Hotaru looked to the side, as if seeing something that wasn't there. "I was in an accident a long time ago…I have a lot of scars."  
  
An uncomfortable silence fell between them.  
  
Finding a different subject, Chibi-Usa chirped nervously, "Your home is a research laboratory, isn't it! What kind of research do you do?"  
  
No reply came.  
  
Turning slightly, she was horrified to see Hotaru on her knees on the floor, clutching at her chest with fingers curled like claws, the silken fabric wrinkled.  
  
"Hotaru!"  
  
"It's…just…an attack…like the others," she gasped out, shadows of intense, white-hot pain darkening her face immensely. "Get the amulet on my desk."  
  
Chibi-Usa blinked and moved to the marble desk, lifting a flower-shaped jewel amulet up by the gold chain.  
  
It made her uneasy.  
  
"Here you go," she told Hotaru, handing the jewel over.   
  
Holding it to her chest, her breathing became calmer and less irregular. "Soon, I won't be…myself anymore." A crackling air began forming around her.   
  
Lifting a hand to her brooch, Chibi-Usa gnawed momentarily on her lip before snapping it open and pulling out the sparkling crystal within.   
  
"Here, Hotaru. Let me help you this time."   
  
Soft pink light poured from the crystal, dousing Hotaru with its purity.  
  
'So warm…'  
  
"Is that your amulet?" she finally asked, amethyst eyes open and smiling.  
  
"What?"  
  
"An amulet is a charm that protects you," she explained kindly.  
  
"Oh. Then, yeah! This is my amulet. But it doesn't protect only me, it can protect *you*, too!"  
  
Hotaru pulled back a little, surprised. Then a smile broke across her face. "What is your name?"  
  
Chibi-Usa smiled happily. "My name is Selenity or Usagi, but everyone calls me Chibi-Usa."  
  
Hotaru smiled as well. "Well, Chibi-Usa, I won't tell anyone about your amulet…or Sailor Chibi-Moon."  
  
The two girls clasped hands, silently vowing the promise of best friends, smiling at each other.  
  
He watched from the outstretched branches of the tree, his lovely companion perched beside him.  
  
A wind brushed their hair.  
  
*  
  
The distance between Hotaru's home and Chibi-Usa's was great and the latter was mournfully wondering on how she was to get home.  
  
That was before a steady 'thp-thp-thp-thp' sound shattered her thoughts.  
  
'A helicopter?!' she gaped.  
  
"Hey, little bunny! Are you a going to Usagi's place? We'll give you a ride!" A young man leaned out the hatch, the wind flapping the lapels of his black leather jacket, a white t-shirt underneath. The moonlight reflected dully off his black pants and shoes. Something about him made her want to agree…  
  
"Who are you?" she cried, instead. "Are you friends' of Usagi?"  
  
"She may not know us," he smiled mysteriously, "but we know her very well! Come on in!"  
  
Eager to try the new experience offered her, she gladly ran to it and he pulled her up into it, buckling her into a seat before sliding the door shut.  
  
His companion, the pilot, was a young woman with sea-green hair brushing her shoulders and wavy. She was familiar…  
  
"So, you're a friend of Hotaru's?" the woman asked brightly.  
  
"Yup!" Chibi-Usa answered proudly.  
  
"What did you two talk about?" the man asked.  
  
"Can't tell."  
  
The two groaned quietly.  
  
"We did talk about amulets, though," she added.  
  
"Amulets?" the woman repeated, smiling slightly.  
  
"Yeah. Hotaru-chan says they're charms that protect you from evil. We've both got one." Staring inquisitively at the woman, she found herself asking, "Do you have one?"  
  
She held up a bejeweled mirror, an ensigna etched on the elegant handle and on the slick surface of the mirror itself. "This is my Talisman."  
  
'Talisman…?' Chibi-Usa thought with interest.  
  
"We're here, little rabbit," the man threw in.  
  
*  
  
Inside the Tsukino household, Ikuko and Usagi paused in a passionate argument to see a helicopter hovering outside Usagi's bedroom window.  
  
"What in…!" Ikuko gasped, touching her lips with one hand while her teenaged daughter raced to the window, opening it and standing out on the balcony.  
  
*  
  
"Little rabbit," he said gently to the child, "you mustn't tell anyone about us or the mirror. It's our little secret." He gave her a rougish wink to reassure her and it worked.  
  
Below them, a frantic Ikuko and Usagi ran to the gate of their front lawn and Chibi-Usa, having left the helicopter, raced to meet them.  
  
"Oh my Kami-sama!" Ikuko shrieked, pulling the girl into a deep hug while Usagi stared up at the helicopter and the young man sitting at the hatch, smiling sweetly down at her.  
  
"Haruka…," she breathed.  
  
"I went to Hotaru's and the gave me a ride back! Isn't that swell?"  
  
Haruka smiled at them--no, Usagi corrected wonderingly…at her.  
  
"Good night, little muffin heads," he blew and a breeze kissed her hair and skin.  
  
  
PallaPlease ~ February 15, 2001. 


	5. Five

*Running Against the Wind*  
-Chapter Five | Sailor Soldiers-  
  
  
Bright chatter and laughter lit the atmosphere of the glorious campus estate; glittering halls and glistening chandeliers were lavishly decorated with posters of the elegant Kaiou Michiru. A small girl with fluffy pink hair tied up in twin pigtails held her loose fist up to her lower lip, looking in astonishment at one of the posters.  
  
'That's the woman who took me home in the helicopter! She's a violinist.' The thoughts mused in her mind evaporated the instant she heard a familiar voice gasp, "Chibi-Usa? Mamoru?"  
  
Looking over her shoulder, Chibi-Usa grinned, sticking her tongue out cutely. "Konban wa, Mako-chan!" she chirped and Usagi stared in shock at the child as well as at raven-haired Mamoru.   
  
"What are you guys doing here?!" she finally burst.  
  
"Miss Kaiou gave me two tickets, so I invited Chibi-Usa to come along. You already had tickets, I believe, courtesy of one Ten'ou Haruka," Mamoru replied quietly and Usagi blushed, fingering a curl twisting about her ear.  
  
"Come along, minna-san! The concert must be starting!" Ami busily interrupted, moving as swiftly as she could in her blue gown.  
  
Pushing aside any feelings of jealousy Usagi had--truthfully, she was surprised by the lack of them--in her mind, the petite blonde smiled brightly at the others. "Shall we?" she chirped happily, before following in the blue-haired girl's path.  
  
Unseen by her companions, Minako snuck away, fingering a compact she had used when she went as 'Sailor V.'   
  
*  
  
"You look beautiful," he had told her gently, mussing her sea green hair lightly. Oh, how she had wanted to ask him how many times he had said that to *her*! But she was content with the free affection he gave her that he gave no others, excluding *her*. As long as she had his love, she would be satisfied, complete.  
  
It was with these thoughts that Kaiou Michiru checked her reflection one more time, insuring that, indeed, her pearl earrings were in place and her make-up wasn't smudged or layered too thickly.  
  
Picking her slender violin up with one equally slender hand, she exhaled slowly before setting her shoulders and walking--no, floating--onto the stage.  
  
As she set the violin to her shoulder and rested her chin on it, pressing the bow to the strings and loosing the waves, she scanned the crowd for her lover and she saw him in a corner, aloof and alone, the wild, uncultivated wind in a room of the blank, docile elite.  
  
*  
  
Usagi listened rapturously to the sweet melodies of the violin, brought into an unpredictable sea of music, lost in the current.  
  
[["You just have to listen to Michiru once to get hooked."]]  
  
She blinked and glanced unbidden about the immense room, seeing the richly dressed men and women all about, unwilling to admit to herself that she was looking for the recognizable face of Haruka. 'What is this hold you have over my thoughts?' she asked plaintively of him as her eyes sought him out, found him all alone in a corner by the exit, his eyes coolly watching Michiru's performance, a sad sort of resignation hanging about his person.  
  
'Oh, Haruka…you must be lonely in the corner…'  
  
Sighing, barely audible, she returned her gaze to the stage, feeling Chibi-Usa shift excitedly in the seat next to her as the music swiftly changed from peaceful to thunderous.  
  
Usagi never felt his eyes linger on her before sweeping back to Michiru.  
  
*  
  
A young man outfitted in the Mugen Gakuen uniform slyly joined the noisy crowd filling a separate auditorium, each and every person inside of it awaiting the first song of the one and only Hanyu Mimi. He smiled to himself, thinking happily, 'I am *so* glad I came!' amidst the screams and laughter.  
  
Mimi giggled joyfully into her microphone, waving prettily at the audience. "Arigatou, minna-san! Mimi is soooo happy to perform for her very special college!" Curtsying in her miniskirt for the benefit of the gawking males in front, she winked at a chosen one, who immediately fell prey to teasing for his instantaneous blush from his friends.   
  
"I love Mugen Gakuen and each of you. I'd love to give my all to the college! Wouldn't you?"  
  
A loud, raucous affirmative rose forth from the audience.  
  
The young man who had arrived late narrowed his eyes in sudden suspicion, reaching into his pocket for a strangely decorated pen…  
  
"Then everyone close your eyes and listen quietly to this special song I wrote just for *you* all."  
  
'Why do I feel tired?! Is Mimi…' He turned and began pushing his way through the obedient crowds, forcing his mind to its limits so he could ignore the oddly alluring song.  
  
"Give your heart and soul to the Master, Pharoah 90!"  
  
'No! Hanyu Mimi is the enemy!' he thought desperately, averting his eyes as he climbed toward the exit so as to not see the apparitional forms drifting up out of human bodies, moving to Mimi's evilly grinning form.  
  
"Hey, you! Where do you think you're going?" another young man cried angrily, eyes glowing demonically.  
  
"The toilet!" the escapee-to-be replied frantically.  
  
"No one is permitted to leave the hall during a concert!" the second snarled and the young man barely escaped into the hall, ripping a henshin pen out of his pocket, throwing it into the air, letting the words explode from his lips.  
  
"Venus Planet Power, Make-up!"  
  
*  
  
Just as Mimi--Mimete--was about to take the souls, another microphone was put into use and another feminine figure appeared on the stage.  
  
"Don't listen to her! Behind that cute façade and that beautiful voice is the personification of evil! Don't be fooled!"  
  
"Who's that?!" Mimete screeched, whirling dangerously around.  
  
"With the blessing of Venus, the planet of love, Sailor Venus, Senshi of Love, is HERE!"  
  
*  
  
A bolt of warning shot through both Michiru's mind and Haruka's.  
  
A screech blew from Michiru's violin and the curtain descended quickly, startling the viewers.  
  
Usagi, stunned and receiving an itchy-crawly feeling on the back of her neck, flickered her ocean blue eyes over to where Haruka had been, only a little surprised to see he wasn't there.  
  
And then the persistent beeping of her Senshi communicator/watch broke through her haze. Glancing downa t the screen, she read the words quickly.  
  
//Usagi! Hanyu Mimi, that teen idol, is the enemy!! Get down here right away!//  
  
The other four Senshi had received the message as well and Mamoru, being by no means a dull man, picked up the general feel.  
  
In a half-minute's time, they had left the auditorium.  
  
*  
  
"Open your eyes! Come *ON*; it's not too late!" Growling and spitting out a vehement curse, Sailor Venus wielded the chain she wore often about her waist, crying, "Venus Love Chain!" to transform it into a deadly weapon that lashed above the heads of the 'zombie-fied' students, snapping them out of the trance.   
  
"Get outside!" she screamed into the mic, and the melee obeyed…albeit confusedly.   
  
"Sailor Venus, I Mimete, at level 40, shall defeat you! CHARM BUSTER!" Mimete's eyes flashed viciously as she leapt across the stage to face Venus.  
  
"Venus Wink Chain Sword!" the golden-haired Senshi defended, lashing the evil woman in the face with both attacks.  
  
"Venus!" a chorus of voices broke into the premature battle and Venus exhaled, relieved.   
  
"Wonderful to see ya, everybody!"  
  
Mimete screeched. "Kaori Night, lend me your power, I beg of you!"  
  
In her underground chambers, Kaori frowned coldly. "The Daimon eggs are too young to be hatched successfully, you fool!" she spat, "But I suppose there is nothing we can do about that!" Sighing irritatedly, she blew evil into the water mirror.  
  
Two girls trying to flee the room tripped over their feet and one glanced at her companion, a scream of revulsion and pain ripping from her throat. A foul growth of rotten putridness bubbled forth from both their backs, the Daimons squalling and raging as they came into existence.  
  
A boy of about thirteen years underwent a similar regression in the back of the room.  
  
Desperate, Sailor Moon cried, "Moon Spiral Heart Attack!" And the two Daimons pulled back, too late, disintegrating into a messy nothing.  
  
Unnoticed by the Senshi, the third Daimon approached Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Chibi-Moon from behind, the stench of it blown away from them by the still-functioning air conditioning.  
  
Sailor Venus was grinning from ear-to-ear when she happened to turn, seeing the forgotten Daimon.  
  
"Tuxedo Kamen! Sailor Chibi-Moon!"  
  
The two in peril moved too slowly and the Daimon loomed dangerously above, ready to pounce, as it were…  
  
"Deep Submerge!"  
  
A thick, brutal tidal wave thundered *through* the Daimon, annihilating it and smashing cruelly into a horrified Mimete.  
  
Chibi-Moon stared intently at two silhouettes on a balcony, and she knew the others were doing the same.  
  
"World Shaking!" the masculine one of the two smirked and Mimete wasn't granted even a dying scream.  
  
Her remains smeared the stage cheerfully.  
  
"Who…?" Sailor Moon managed to whisper into the stunned silence following the explosive earthquake.  
  
"With the blessings of the Planet of the Sea, Neptune; the Senshi of Depths, Sailor Neptune…" She was tall and graceful, sweepingly beautiful with a sea-green trimmed fuku that fit her hair color perfectly. "And…," she continued, leaving her silver-armored companion to finish.  
  
"With the blessing of the Planet of Wind, Uranus…the Senshi of the Skies, Sailor Uranus…" He was outfitted in a sleek, form-fitting sort of steel armor, glittering with a band about his head and thickly soled boots, a cold, martial look on his face.  
  
"Are here!" the two cried in unison.  
  
Shocked exclamations from the surprised Senshi of the Inner System littered the air, including a rather loud, "Sailor Senshi?! But I don't know them!" from Venus.  
  
"You don't need to know us," Neptune snapped coldly, holding a fancy mirror in one hand.  
  
[["This is a Talisman," the woman told her with a graceful, benevolent smile.]]  
  
Chibi-Moon gasped. "That hand mirror is a Talisman!" she blurted before she could stop herself, unable to help it.  
  
'Talisman?!'  
  
Sailor Neptune smiled, almost emotionlessly. "So we meet again, little bunny."  
  
'Kaiou Michiru is Sailor Neptune?! Why was she so kind when she's acting so mean now?'  
  
Sailor Mars scowled darkly, something she was practiced in, and demanded, "Are you the ones who sent us the nightmares, the visions, about the God of Destruction and the Talismans?"  
  
"So you feel it, too. The premonition of doom. The danger of destruction," Uranus half-smirked, his eyes flickering momentarily to where a confused Sailor Moon stood.  
  
"If you know something, tell us!" Mars insisted, her ebony mane rippling as she shifted dangerously.  
  
"We will not work beside you," Uranus coldly retorted. "Ever."  
  
"You're not…our allies?" Sailor Moon asked weakly, feeling something inside of her chest snap.  
  
He seemed to hesitate for a heartbeat before finishing, "I…*we* never said we were allies."  
  
"Wait!" Mercury interjected, having stayed silent throughout the entire exchange, "We are fighting the Death Busters as well! Why can't we work together? Please tell us!"  
  
Neptune lifted a polished brown object, cocking it on her shoulder, beneath her chin, and began playing a bow across it.  
  
'It' was a violin.  
  
"Kaiou Michiru?" Tuxedo Kamen wondered softly, gazing at the regal Senshi in surprise and wonderment.  
  
"My head!" Mercury cried out suddenly, clutching at her temples.  
  
"It's splitting!" Jupiter moaned, falling to her knees and trying to force the music Neptune was playing out of her head.  
  
'These two Senshi with their Talisman…could they…destroy us?!' Mars thought with the tiny portion of her mind that wasn't being driven insane, then surrendering to the agony, crying.  
  
Uranus looked at Sailor Moon where she was curled up, crying inconsolably at the grating, intense pain.  
  
"Cease, Michiru," he ordered quietly, laying one gauntleted hand on her shoulder, sensing rather than seeing the flicker of a displeased frown on her face.  
  
It was interesting how their personalities and very roles, it seemed, would reverse when it came to the welfare of Sailor Moon.  
  
"Let us leave," he continued and she nodded gently.  
  
"Wait!" Tuxedo Kamen. Sailor Uranus gritted his teeth and tensed. "Why are you doing this? Are you the ones who will lead us to destruction?" When all he got was a cold, uncaring look from Uranus and an indifferent one from Neptune, he yelled in outrage, "Answer me!!"  
  
Uranus let his emotions ride over his senses and raised one hand, palm facing outward and fingers rigidly pointing upward. The corners of his lips twitched upwards once as he glared at Tuxedo Kamen and he said in a dead voice, "World Shaking."  
  
Sailor Moon heard the pained cries of her friends and the torn sob she recognized as her own.  
  
'Haruka…'  
  
She was falling backwards and it seemed so very slow…  
  
'Sailor Uranus…'  
  
She was on the ground, prostrate and hurting all over physically, but wounded even greater inside.  
  
'He attacked us.'  
  
Her heart beat thickly.  
  
'A Sailor Senshi attacked us.'  
  
She surrendered her mind to a blurred unconsciousness.  
  
  
  
  
PallaPlease.  
March 24, 2001. 


End file.
